Dying of the Light is American author George R. R. Martin's first novel, published in 1977. Martin's original title for this science fiction novel was After the Festival; its title was changed before its first hardcover publication. The novel was nominated for both the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1978, and the British Fantasy Award in 1979. Dying of the Light is set in the same fictional universe as several of Martin's short stories and novellas, including "With Morning Comes Mistfall", A Song for Lya, and the stories collected in Tuf Voyaging. The novel takes place on the planet of Worlorn, a world which is dying. It is a rogue planet whose erratic course is taking it irreversibly far from its neighboring stars into a region of cold and dark space where no life will survive. Worlorn's 14 cities, built during a brief window when the world passed close enough to a red giant star to permit life to thrive, are dying, too. Built to celebrate the diverse cultures of 14 planetary systems, t...